Taiwan’s six largest cities protested on Sunday after a global mayors’ climate group listed them on its website as being part of China. The group -- the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) -- has since responded to the protest, changing its designation for Taiwan back to “Chinese Taipei.”
The foreign ministry also got involved, asking GCoM’s representative office in Brussels to correct the country classification.
Foreign Minister Joseph Wu on Monday thanked the mayors for their joint effort, saying he was “especially happy that the mayors of the six cities stood united.” He said, “It was very moving that (the protest) was not divided by party differences.”
The mayors of the six cities -- Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung -- come from three different political parties.
Premier Su Tseng-chang also applauded the mayors’ efforts, calling on the country to stay united. He said that Taiwan must maintain its sovereignty and protect its citizens from harm.